To prove he's a man to Rita, Michael and his nephew Steve Holt compete in the Church And State Fair's annual triathlon. George Sr. tries to scare some at-risk youth, and Tobias tries to help George-Michael's girlfriend Ann to compete in the fairs' "inner beauty" pageant.
Season 3's densest episode: 72 jokes in 27 minutes, anchored on a single sight-gag premise.
Directed by Lev L. Spiro · Written by Ron Weiner
WAR
116.9
Wins Above Replacement
“Notapusy” ranks #69 of 84 Arrested Development episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 91.9 — Elite. The episode packs 79 scored jokes at 3.0 per minute, averaging 7.6 on craft and 7.4 on impact, with Michael landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Narrator: Narrator explanation + WWII cutaway: 'Rita meant it in the British sense, meaning sweet or gentle, as in pussycat' — cut to soldiers calling a pacifist soldier a 'pussy' as a compliment
Narrator Dark/Subversive Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Gob: Gob yelling 'Does anyone know why my handlebars are in my bed?!'
Gob Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Steve Holt · Michael · Narrator: Steve Holt gives Michael pills he calls 'Oxy-Incontinent' — 'they keep you from being incontinent.' Narrator: 'Steve didn't have that quite right.'
Michael: Hi. Where are you going and how long you going for?
Michael Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Buster · Lucille: Buster's hook getting stuck in the prize hole: 'Oh, it got stuck in the prize hole again.' — 'I told you not to play that stupid game anymore.' — 'I wasn't playing it. I was just trying to get my other one back.'
All Jokes — 79 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Narrator · Michael · Lindsay: Michael was heading to work when he saw something he had never seen before lunch, his twin sister Lindsay.
Lindsay: Lindsay's plan: take the nanny job so Bob Loblaw gives her a free divorce, then marry her so she never has to work again.
Lindsay Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Lindsay: Lindsay mentions she got her horse to canter, then says 'I've always wanted to make love on a horse.'
Lindsay Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Lindsay: Lindsay responds to news of working without a lunge-line with 'That's so funny, because I can put my leg behind my head.'
Lindsay Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Michael · Narrator: Michael asks 'Snog? Is that another one of your new British-isms?' after unconsciously using the word himself
Narrator: Narrator: 'Michael had recently fallen bum-over-noggin for a beautiful Englishwoman called Rita.'
Narrator Wordplay/Pun Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael: 'Did I say snog again? Oh, bloody hell.'
Michael Character Comedy Running Gag ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: Michael's advice to Lindsay: 'Find something you're good at and share it with her. And while you're at it, share it with us, too.'
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael: Michael's phone check: 'Oh my God! Did I miss a call?' — it's a voicemail from Rita saying she's on her way to the train station
Michael Irony/Sarcasm Reaction Beat Callback Michael: Hi. Where are you going and how long you going for?
Michael Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Michael · Rita: Michael's out-of-breath excuse: 'I wasn't hurrying to come stop you. I was out for my daily, uh...' — and then Rita reveals she won an Olympic silver medal in running
Michael · Rita: 'But you take my breath away.' — delivered by a winded, clearly-out-of-shape Michael to an Olympic runner
Narrator: Narrator explanation + WWII cutaway: 'Rita meant it in the British sense, meaning sweet or gentle, as in pussycat' — cut to soldiers calling a pacifist soldier a 'pussy' as a compliment
Narrator Dark/Subversive Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Narrator: 'When I miss your lips, I'll put a (bleep) in my mouth and think of you.' Narrator: 'That also had a different meaning over there.'
Narrator Wordplay/Pun Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Callback Narrator · George Michael: Narrator: 'In fact, the only thing George Michael really liked was hanging motionless from the monkey bars. Which the President's Council on Fitness ranks as slightly easier than the slide.'
Michael · George Michael: George Michael wants to go fabric shopping with Ann; Michael says 'I think we can go butcher.'
Michael: Michael's method for remembering Ann's name: 'her body's kind of shaped like a...' — implying 'Annabelle' because Ann's body is bell-shaped
Michael Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Michael · George Michael: Michael: 'She's the belle of the ball.' — then George Michael reveals Ann is a contestant in the beauty pageant, not running the lights.
Michael · George Michael: George Michael: 'It's an inner beauty pageant.' Michael: 'Ah! There it is.'
Narrator: The State Fair is going to be a 'Church and State Fair' — the state ran out of money and a church agreed to fund it if they got a presence
Maeby: Maeby: 'There's no such thing as an inner beauty pageant. They're just gonna pick the chick with the best T and A.'
Maeby Observational Character Comedy Narrator: Narrator: childhood progressive pageants claimed to celebrate beauty in all forms, 'but the winners still tended to have it going on in the conventional sense.'
Narrator Deadpan/Understatement Irony/Sarcasm Callback Lindsay · Maeby: Lindsay doesn't know where Maeby's hair came from. Maeby: 'Shameless Plugs, on Placentia. They're not licensed, which means big savings.'
Tobias: I'm guessing 'have sex', but that's meeting you more than halfway.
Tobias Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Lindsay · Tobias: Lindsay: 'If I can get Hope this crown, maybe her father might just want to crown me, if you know what I mean.' Tobias: 'I'm guessing have sex, but that's meeting you more than halfway.'
Tobias: Tobias asks someone to clean up the mirror, then the vase — implying he's broken things in a dramatic moment, visible to the audience
Tobias · George Michael: Tobias: 'I'll show them a little T and A.' — George Michael's reaction shot
Tobias: Tobias on coaching Ann: 'Within her lies a queen. Let me out that queen.'
Tobias Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch George Michael: George Michael: 'Yeah, I think you just did.' — after Tobias's 'let me out that queen' line
Gob · Michael: Gob: 'Come on, I lie to yours all the time.' — responding to Michael refusing to lie to Steve Holt
Gob: Gob: 'Third place, although a little bit plain, has super low self-esteem. So I step in and, uh, lay her crown upon my sweet head.'
Gob Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Michael: Michael: 'Have I missed this euphemism?'
Michael Reaction Beat Deadpan/Understatement Steve Holt: Steve Holt! — Steve Holt announces himself by name with a fist pump
Steve Holt · Michael: Michael: 'He's hiding from me, isn't he?' — Steve Holt's accurate read of the situation
Michael: Michael: 'You know, you got to stop saying your name all the time.'
Michael Meta/Self-Referential Character Comedy Steve Holt · Michael: Steve Holt! / Uncle Mike! (repeated) Both men felt good about themselves.
Gob: Gob: 'I'll just have to steal something of his. Like, say, his bicycle. As a... placeholder.'
Gob Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael's voicemail to Rita announcing the triathlon — 'Just want to let you know that I'm running the triathlon at the fair, and if you're back in t...' — immediately embarrassed by himself mid-message
Michael Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Callback Maeby · Narrator: Maeby's pageant disguise: the Nicole Kidman prosthetic nose from The Hours, purchased by Jamie Kennedy at a charity auction for $10,000
Maeby: It's Surely. I'm just here to prove that all these pageants care about is looks. Just watch, Surely's inner beauty will get trumped by her outer icky.
Maeby Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Jamie Kennedy: Jamie Kennedy: 'Oh, you're such a dear. But I'm not putting you in my remake of A Thoroughly Polite Dustup.'
Pageant Official · Maeby: Pageant official: 'Miss Woolfbeak, although it costs quite a bit to put in a ramp for you, we got approval. You're in.' — accepting Maeby's disguise because she appears disabled
Lucille: Lucille on Buster losing a hand: 'My God, he's already lost a hand. If he loses a leg, how will we ever get him out of the apartment?'
Lucille Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Buster · Lucille: Buster's hook getting stuck in the prize hole: 'Oh, it got stuck in the prize hole again.' — 'I told you not to play that stupid game anymore.' — 'I wasn't playing it. I was just trying to get my other one back.'
George Sr. · Lindsay: George Sr.: 'I'll do anything to get out of this (bleep) apartment.' Lindsay (misheard): 'You'll do anything to get out of (bleep)-ing in this apartment.'
Buster · Narrator: 'That spells Army' — Buster discovering that 'At Risk Male Youth' is an acronym for ARMY
George Sr. · Michael: George Sr. on triathlon difficulty: 'People lose control of every bodily function. Didn't you ever see that video? It's like your mother on New Year's Eve. Actually, Lucille went down faster.'
George Sr. · Michael: George Sr. accidentally functions as the 'Startled Straight' example by scaring Michael with triathlon horror stories — 'You see? Perfect for this Startled Straight thing.'
Tobias: Tobias: 'I think we need something with a little more spectacle in the act. Something that will make you look small and pretty in comparison. A camel.'
Tobias Absurdist Character Comedy Tobias · Ann: Ann: 'I'll sing to the camel.' Tobias: 'Yes, we can Google some disco songs with the word hump in them.' Ann: 'No, that sounds a bit racy.'
Tobias · George Michael: Tobias to George Michael: 'He may be afraid of sex, but you're not going to win without it.' George Michael: '...' Tobias: 'Oh, good. Have sex with this girl right now. Do it, go.'
Tobias: Tobias: 'Ann, you need to decide whether you want a man or a boy. I know how I'd answer.'
Tobias Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Trainer: Training montage: 'Don't ask can I? Ask I can!' / 'You can control your bladder when you're dead.' / 'No blood, no oil!' / 'There's no I in win.'
Gob: Gob yelling 'Does anyone know why my handlebars are in my bed?!'
Gob Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Announcer · Ann: Announcer: 'And now, please welcome Annabelle Veal, performing We Three Kings with a camel tow.'
Steve Holt · Michael · Narrator: Steve Holt gives Michael pills he calls 'Oxy-Incontinent' — 'they keep you from being incontinent.' Narrator: 'Steve didn't have that quite right.'
Maeby: Maeby (as Surely Woolfbeak) at the pageant Q&A: 'How has God influenced your life?' — 'About just as much as Big Bird and the Keebler elves.'
Maeby Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Pageant Contestant (wheelchair user): Well, my faith would've been shaken if He had taken my legs, too.
Gob · Judge: Gob: 'Definitely not my shallow, materialistic mother, who only cares about looks.' Judge: 'I think we all feel that way about our mothers, and we all have legs.'
Gob Judge Setup/Punchline Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Callback George Sr. · Narrator: George Sr. wanders into the wrong 'Startled Straight' tent — the church-sponsored one designed to scare gay men into heterosexuality
George Sr. · Audience Member: George Sr. in the wrong tent, asking the audience: 'Do you want to become some guy's girlfriend? You want to have some guy reach around you in the middle of the night, start messing with your junk?' Gay man in audience: 'Is he ugly?' — 'No, it's pitch black. You don't see him.'
George Sr. · Audience Member: George Sr.: 'It never stops, guys.' Audience Member: 'Is there a cover charge?'
Maeby · Pageant Audience: Maeby reveals she can walk — standing up to give her crown to Ann — and the pageant audience mistakes it for a miracle: 'She can stand! The Lord's blessed her!'
Michael · Narrator: Narrator reveals the triathlon is tricycles, inflatable pools, and fathers/sons manacled together. Michael: 'What the hell is this?'
Steve Holt: Steve Holt: 'They change it every year, so you can't replicate it on your lawn.'
Steve Holt: Steve Holt: 'I just thought you wanted to hang out and do guy stuff.'
George Michael · Ann: George Michael: 'I was worried that if you came in first you'd outgrown me.' Ann: 'Outgrown you. That is the term I've been looking for.'
Narrator: Narrator: 'It seems Gob was right about what happens to third-place contestants.' — Ann has met a man (Tobias)
Narrator Callback Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Michael · Steve Holt: Michael: 'I don't know what was in that pill, but I do not feel great.' Steve: 'Gonna get a little worse before it gets better.'
Michael · Narrator: Hey, do this with me! / And that's when Rita noticed Michael. / Wait for me! Wait for me!
George Sr. · Narrator: George Sr. in a Humvee at the fair, attempting to escape — then choosing between the 'bulletproof' Pope Mobile and the Army Combat Humvee, 'and he decided to escape in the bulletproof one.'
George Michael: George Michael: 'There's all sorts of benefits, and it's like a family — but it's also an army of one.'
George Michael · Michael: And it's no place for wimps. George Michael, you have a family, okay, and I'm the wimp, not you... because I could not take you being away in the Army.
Michael: Michael to George Michael: 'I'm the wimp, not you... because I could not take you being away in the Army.'
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Callback Gob: Gob: 'That's too bad. I was this close to getting out.'
Gob Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Michael · Buster: Michael: 'I think I'm gonna go get one of those corn dog crosses.' Buster: 'With all the crucifixins?'
Rita · Michael · Narrator: Rita: 'You're a complete and utter (bleep).' Narrator: 'I can't believe we had to bleep that. It would have been such a nice moment.'
Buster · Gob · Steve Holt: 'On the next Arrested Development': Buster signs Steve Holt up for the Army — 'I'm finally ready to be a father to you. I know that now.' Steve: 'I don't go in for another two years.' Gob: 'Well, as your father, can't I sign something?'
George Sr. · Narrator: 'On the next': George Sr. escaping in a fake Pope Mobile — 'a fake Pope Mobile can't stop real bullets.' George Sr.: 'Thank God I wasn't in the Humvee.'
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